548  The  Yorkshire  Farm-Prize  Competition,  1883. 
The  hay-barns  already  described  are  surrounded  by  a small 
courtyard,  in  which  watering-troughs  are  placed.  A visit  to 
these  troughs  twice  a-day  is  the  only  exercise  allowed  to  the 
best  cattle  during  the  winter  months. 
About  one-third  of  the  breeding-ewes  are  usually  sent  to 
turnips  for  three  months.  This  is  a double  advantage  ; a better 
crop  of  lambs  is  secured,  and  those  of  greater  strength,  while 
the  ewes  at  home  have  more  room,  and  thereby  have  better 
wintering;  besides  keeping  the  pastures  cleaner  and  fresher  for 
the  lambing  season.  On  our  first  visit,  80  greyfaced  ewes 
(mules)  were  away  eating  turnips.  Unfortunately,  this  lot  on 
their  way  home  contracted  foot-and-mouth  disease.  Abortion, 
weakly  lambs,  chronic  lameness,  and  general  loss  of  condition, 
were  the  results  ; but  only  two  ewes  died.  Fortunately,  the 
disease  did  not  spread  to  any  other  animals  on  the  farm. 
The  sheep  are  all  smeared  in  October  with  a mixture  of  tar 
and  butter.  The  materials  for  the  whole  flock  cost  about  8/. 
To  the  uninitiated,  some  explanation  of  this  process  may  be 
necessary.  A tub  containing  the  preparation  is  placed  by  the 
side  of  a sheep-stool,  on  which  the  operator  sits  with  the  sheep 
lying  in  front  of  him.  The  wool  is  divided  in  a straight  line 
from  the  head  to  the  tail  ; the  dressing  is  then  lifted  with 
the  forefingers  of  the  right  hand  and  rubbed  on  the  skin  the 
Avhole  length  of  the  division.  Another  parting  in  the  wool  is 
then  made  about  two  inches  from  the  last,  and  the  operation 
is  repeated  until  the  whole  skin  of  the  sheep  is  thus  covered. 
One  man  does  10  sheep  in  a day.  This  dressing  undoubtedly 
gives  greater  power  of  resistance  to  the  sheep  against  the  winter 
storms  than  the  modern  system  of  dipping.  The  latter  mode 
has,  however,  almost  entirely  superseded  both  smearing  and 
pouring  on  the  hill  farms  of  the  Borders.  The  Judges  can  say 
this  for  Mr.  Davis’s  ewe  flock,  that,  with  the  exception  of  the 
greyfaces  which  had  foot-and-mouth  disease,  they  were  turned 
out  of  hand  in  spring  in  good  condition,  with  a fair  crop  of 
healthy  lambs  following  them.  We  were  grieved  to  hear  that 
in  1880  the  ewe  flock  had  fluke,  and  died  almost  wholesale. 
At  the  commencement  of  the  tenancy  “ the  crag  ” was  separated 
from  the  land  below  it  by  a ragged  thorn  fence,  which  at  best 
was  no  certain  barrier  against  the  stock  descending  on  to  the 
finer  land.  This  and  a number  of  other  fences  of  the  same 
description  were  taken  out,  and  stone  walls  substituted.  That 
around  the  crag  was  built  by  the  landlord,  the  tenant  doing 
the  quarrying  and  leading ; the  latter  had  to  be  done  with 
sledges,  the  ground  being  too  steep  for  carts.  On  other  parts  ol 
the  farm  the  tenant  has  built  about  1300  roods  of  stone  wall 
entirely  at  his  own  expense. 
